Seismic surveying is used for identifying subsurface elements, such as hydrocarbon reservoirs, freshwater aquifers, gas injection zones, and so forth. In seismic surveying, seismic sources (such as seismic vibrators or other types of sources) are placed at various locations on a land surface or sea floor or at another location. The seismic sources are activated to generate seismic waves directed into a subsurface structure.
The seismic waves generated by a seismic source travel into the subsurface structure. A portion of the seismic waves are reflected back to the surface for receipt by seismic receivers (e.g. hydrophones, geophones, accelerometers, etc.). These seismic receivers produce signals that represent detected seismic waves. Signals from seismic receivers are processed to yield information about the content and characteristic of the subsurface structure.